In Defense of Ongania

NO WRITER ATTRIBUTED
August 19, 1966

To the Editor of the Summer News:

The undersigned, presently at Harvard Summer School, wishes to take exception from the article which appeared in The Summer News on August 5th. In it, reporter Kramer suggests to your readers a distorted picture of the Argentine political reality. Such reporting, based on incomplete and often biased information, contributes nothing to the understanding of other countries on the part of the American public.

Without entering upon a discussion on the measures taken against the University of Buenos Aires, of which I am a recent alumnus, I believe myself to have the civic olbigation to make clear the historical significance of the Revolution of June 28, 1966.

On that date, an anachronistic democratic regime, which had been proving its incapacity to deal with our numerous national problems, was bloodlessly overthrown by military coop. This was long overdue, given the chronic economic chaos, the growing social conflict, and the increasingly disruptive administrative disorder which racked the Illia Administration. Nobody in Argentina complained against the coup d'etat. On the contrary: there occurred a widespread feeling of relief and hopeful optimism. The Revolution, carried out by the heads of the Armed Forces to lead the country at a moment of national crisis. Ongania's government has since received spontaneous support, or at least acceptance, from meet of the representative forces of the nation: Business, Labor, Church and Press.

To enlighten those who blindly condemn it, I will stress that the Argentine Revolution aims to consolidate a system based on the country's historical heritage: the Christian, Spanish and Federal evolutionary way of life. Argentina, more than anything else, needs a climate of political stability in order to allow its full development and the fullfillment of a responsible society. To this end, a viable economy is essential, the economic growth required. Only in lasting order can this be guaranteed.